Essay by Elin Spring

Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future, and renders the present inaccessible. 

—Maya Angelou 

For ostracized populations across the globe and throughout history, stereotyping has proven damaging and at times even deadly. In her ongoing effort to dispel prejudices, photographer Michele Zousmer has spent a career investigating marginalized groups and the ways they cope with the physical and mental hardships that befall them. In Mis[s]understood, she aspires to uproot entrenched biases against Irish Traveller women and girls. 

To better understand the current state of affairs, a bit of context. The origins of Irish Travellers were long veiled in myth and mystery, but it was recently established that they are a distinct ethnic group. In a decisive 2017 study, genetic researchers found that Travellers descended from the general Irish population about twelve generations ago, around 1657. Further research indicates the origin of this separate genetic population dating as far back as 1597, coinciding with the Plantation of Ulster, which displaced native Irish from their land. Today, the Irish Traveller population stands at about 40,000 and comprises roughly 0.6 percent of the total Irish population. They are entirely unrelated to the Gypsies of Egypt or the Roma, who originated in northern India.

As a nomadic group, Irish Travelers developed their own dialects. Lacking schooling and literacy, they kept no written records, instead espousing a colorful range of oral histories. Coupled with a strong allegiance to the Catholic Church, narratives passed down through the generations have upheld traditional roles, such as women managing home and family, and men tending to horses and livestock. They have adapted to their outsider status by staying insular, which has fostered a culture of early nuptials, enormous families, and instances of intermarrying between first and second cousins. Sadly, there is a high incidence of domestic abuse, and their continual harassment by the “settled” Irish population has led to an incidence of suicide six times greater than that of the overall population. 

As devout Catholics, Travellers adhere to a strict moral code of elder respect and the prohibition of sex before marriage. And yet girls routinely sport risqué dresses with plunging necklines in dazzling colors and glittery accessories, acting coquettish as they travel in packs under the watchful eyes of chaperones. To an outsider like Michele Zousmer, the incongruity of their restrictive norms and provocative appearances was perplexing. As she discovered, the reasons are as complex as they are intriguing. 

Growing school attendance and modern intrusions like the internet have boosted literacy and raised interest in outside careers. Girls are marrying later and having fewer children. The clash of old and new has sparked a cultural inflection point, with internal conflicts erupting in incongruous outward behaviors. Buoyed by a sense of belonging and pride, girls feel emboldened to express their individuality with flair. Accoutrements like flashy jewelry, designer purses, and fancy shoes boast familial prosperity, a signal of defiance to popular misconceptions.

At the same time, their lavish hairstyles and facial makeup serve as liberating masks during comely public displays of preening and pouting. While such flirtatious mannerisms belie the reality of chaste behavior, such facades allow Traveller girls to broadcast their desire for a mate under extremely restrictive rules of dating. These caricatures of femininity are a way for girls to practice adulthood. Seductive clothing and gesturing also function as an act of rebellion against an unaccepting and often infantilizing society. Not surprisingly, there is backlash. Among the consequences of oversexualization is the reinforcement of negative stereotypes. Not only are typecasts misleading about Traveller religious and cultural values, but they serve as fuel for ongoing discrimination.

Irish Traveller girls may be the new warriors of the clan, advancing both solidarity and an insistence on dignity, analogous in many ways to Gay Pride paraders throughout the United States. It was this confidence and optimism that first attracted Michele Zousmer to Irish Traveller women and girls. As a survivor of difficult circumstances an ocean away, Zousmer saw something of herself in their affirmative attitude and was enticed to learn more. Over six years, she periodically embedded with the Travellers, gradually forging friendships and learning their stories, many of which are interwoven with the images that follow. Whether extroverted or introspective, in groups or in private, Zousmer reveals the temperaments of Traveller women and girls with genuine empathy and deep respect. An award-winning humanitarian photographer who has spent her career advocating for marginalized groups, in Mis[s]understood Zousmer illustrates once again that we are more alike than different. 

Michele Zousmer

Michele Zousmer amplifies the voices of individuals and communities often marginalized by society. Her photographic work expresses the essence of human existence and emotion, capturing moments that resonate with life's profound experiences – love, loss, vulnerability, strength and resilience.

Elin Spring

Elin Spring is Founder and Editor of What Will You Remember? as well as a contributing writer to many online and print magazines. Erin has also provided essays for various exhibition catalogs.